Declining fish stocks and expanding fishing fleets have combined with growing competition from aquaculture to put increased pressure on the fishing sector to adjust the size and nature of its operations in many countries. In some fishing communities, almost 60% of jobs are linked to fishing and in many coastal areas there are few alternative employment opportunities for fishers. The impacts of adjustment policies on fishers and fishing communities can thus be considerable, but these policies are generally focused on reducing the number of vessels or the amount of fishing activity, and the "human side" is often treated as an afterthought. Fishers and their representatives may then feel that their only hope of defending their communities is to block any proposed changes. Such concerns are sometimes regarded as one of the major reasons behind policy inertia in adjusting fishing activity.

The Chair's Summary  by Jane Willing is available for further information on the publication.